page_title: Toruń
section_title: Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Toruń / Culture
caption_attribution_description: English: Picture taken in w:Toruń after Wikimania 2010 conference. Deutsch: In w:de:Toruń nach der Wikimania 2010 aufgenommenes Foto.
context_page_description: Toruń is a historical city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 201,447 as of December 2019. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship and the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Since 1999, Toruń has been a seat of the self-government of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and, as such, is one of its two capitals, together with Bydgoszcz. The cities and neighboring counties form the Bydgoszcz–Toruń twin city metropolitan area.
  Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland, with the first settlement dated back to the 8th century and later having been expanded in 1233 by the Teutonic Knights. Over centuries, it was the home for people of diverse backgrounds and religions. From 1264 until 1411 Toruń was part of the Hanseatic League and by the 17th century it was one of the elite trading points, which greatly affected the city's architecture ranging from Brick Gothic to Mannerism and Baroque. In the early-modern age, Toruń was a royal city of Poland and it was one of the four largest cities in the country at the time. After the partitions of Poland it was part of Prussia and later the German Empire.
context_section_description: Toruń has two drama theatres (Teatr im. Wilama Horzycy with three stages and Teatr Wiczy), two children's theatres (Baj Pomorski and Zaczarowany Świat), two music theatres (Mała Rewia, Studencki Teatr Tańca), and numerous other theatre groups. The city hosts, among others events, the international theatre festival, "Kontakt", annually in May.
  A building called Baj Pomorski has recently been completely reconstructed. It is now one of the most modern cultural facilities in the city, with its front elevation in the shape of a gigantic chest of drawers. It is located at the south-east edge of the Old Town. Toruń has two cinemas including a Cinema City, which has over 2,000 seats.
  Over ten major museums document the history of Toruń and the region. Among others, the "House of Kopernik" and the accompanying museum commemorate Nicolaus Copernicus and his revolutionary work, the university museum reveals the history of the city's academic past.
  The Tony Halik Travelers' Museum (Muzeum Podróżników im.Tony Halika) was established in 2003 after Elżbieta Dzikowska donated to citizens of Toruń a collection of objects from various countries and cultures following the death of her husband, famous explorer and writer Tony Halik. It is managed by the District Museum in Toruń.
  The Centre of Contemporary Art (Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej - CSW) opened in June 2008 and is one of the most important cultural facilities of this kind in Poland. The modern building is located in the very centre of the city, adjacent to the Old Town. The Toruń Symphonic Orchestra (formerly the Toruń Chamber Orchestra) is well-rooted in the Toruń cultural landscape.
  Toruń is home to a planetarium (located downtown) and an astronomical observatory (located in nearby community of Piwnice). The latter boasts the largest radio telescope in Central Europe with a diameter of 32 m (104.99 ft), second only to the Effelsberg 100 m (328.08 ft) radio telescope.
  Toruń is well known for Toruń gingerbread, a type of piernik often made in elaborate molds. Muzeum Piernika in Toruń is Europe's only museum dedicated to gingerbread. The 15-year-old composer Fryderyk Chopin was smitten with Toruń gingerbread when he visited his godfather, Fryderyk Skarbek, there in the summer of 1825.
  Toruń is a center of conservative Roman Catholic culture.  Redemptorist Tadeusz Rydzyk has organized here Radio Maryja, Telewizja Trwam, a college whose students contribute to the mentioned media. Now a museum is being constructed.
caption: Toruń planetarium
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